It is hard to identify to which English carols Robert Herrick (1591-1674) refers in his nativity text, What Sweeter Music: What sweeter music can we bringThan a carol, for to singThe birth of this our heavenly King?Awake the voice! Awake the string! When children would reach for their stockingsAnd open the presents they foundThe lights... Continue Reading →
From Following Jesus: A life of faith in a postmodern world - on Facebook from where these images also appear. With thanks to Imelda Kedge for the link From Kurt at followingJesus.org I wrote this for US Thanksgiving in 2013 when our table included those born in the USA, Iraq, Korea, and Ethiopia. With Christians,... Continue Reading →
Two South Okanagan churches, St. Saviour in Penticton, and St. Stephen in Summerland recently helped the Rev. Canon Roger Cooper celebrate 40 years of ordained Anglican ministry. Asked if he had any wisdom to impart to younger ordinands, Roger suggested that “after 40 yrs of ordained ministry, you need a sense of humor, and a... Continue Reading →
Feel free to complete the phrase above with the response: “Here followeth the anthem.” Since the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1549 the rubric welcomes and encourages musical creativity and ability in the public services of Morning and Evening Prayer. Visitors to Anglican cathedrals and larger parish churches throughout the Anglican Communion may find... Continue Reading →
Philip Oltermann writing in The Guardian, Mon 17 Nov 2025 -- Click the original article to hear a partial performance and to see other images. Two long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher. Entitled Chaconne in D... Continue Reading →
Both COP30 and the Tapiri closing service described below are now history. There are however excellent suggestions named below for action following COP, suitable for all regions as the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025-2034) continues. Six days of intensive dialogue among faith communities concluded on 16 November with... Continue Reading →
Reposted from Sylvia Olsen’s blog here Dr. Sylvia Olsen is an author, story-teller, knitting designer, housing specialist and teacher, Sylvia Olsen is an eclectic mix of her creative and academic pursuits. Her books have received numerous awards and nominations and many are Canadian best sellers. Her knitting designs have received attention across Canada and the... Continue Reading →
The Very. Rev. Ken Gray, All Saints tide 2025 -- This article first appeared in the November issue of TOPIC, the Newspaper of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, Vancouver BC Canada As we remember saints, sinners, and all souls together through the triduum of Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls let me also honour... Continue Reading →
Ray Fletcher and I go back a long way, to the winter of 1983. We had both gone north to the Anglican Diocese of Yukon, Ray as a parish priest first in Atlin and later Dawson City. I arrived to join the Yukon Apostolate, an informal order of laity keen to serve the Church in... Continue Reading →
A sermon for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, November 9th, 2025 for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland by the Very Rev. Ken Gray The original title of Norman Lear’s 1971 TV sitcom All in the Family was Those Were the Days which ended up as the show’s theme song. I can imagine J D... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 